Linux Samba Service Configuration Tutorial

About 452 wordsAbout 2 min

2026-01-06

Installing Samba

apt update
apt install samba

Configuring Samba

The Samba configuration file is typically located at /etc/samba/smb.conf. You can use a text editor (such as nano or vim) to edit this file and add shared directories.

Remember to back up the file before making changes.

cp /etc/samba/smb.conf /etc/samba/smb.conf.bak

[shared]
   comment = Shared Folder
   path = /home/user/shared
   valid users = user
   read only = no
   browsable = yes
   create mask = 0777
   directory mask = 0777

comment: Description of the shared directory.
path: Path to the shared directory.
valid users: Users allowed to access this shared directory.
read only: Set to no to allow write access.
browsable: Set to yes to make the shared directory visible on the network.
create mask and directory mask: Set permissions for files and directories.

Creating a Samba User

Samba uses its own user database for authentication. You need to create a user for Samba and set a password.


adduser user

sudo smbpasswd -a user

You will be prompted to enter and confirm the password.

Starting and Enabling the Samba Service

After configuration, you need to start the Samba service and set it to start automatically on system boot.

On Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo systemctl start smbd
sudo systemctl enable smbd
sudo systemctl start nmbd
sudo systemctl enable nmbd

On CentOS/RHEL:

sudo systemctl start smb
sudo systemctl enable smb
sudo systemctl start nmb
sudo systemctl enable nmb

Firewall Configuration

If your system has a firewall enabled (such as ufw or firewalld), you need to allow the Samba service through the firewall.

On Debian/Ubuntu (using `ufw`):

sudo ufw allow samba

On CentOS/RHEL (using `firewalld`):

sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=samba
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Testing the Samba Configuration

You can use the testparm command to check for syntax errors in the Samba configuration file.

testparm

If there are no errors, the Samba service should be successfully configured and running.

Accessing the Shared Directory

On Windows, you can access the Samba share by entering \\<server IP address> in File Explorer. On Linux, you can use the smbclient or mount command to access the shared directory.

# Using smbclient
apt install smbclient
smbclient //<server IP address>/shared -U user
# List shared directories
smbclient -L //<server IP address> -U user
# Download a file
smbclient //<server IP address>/shared -U user -c 'get <remote file> <local file>'
# Upload a file
smbclient //<server IP address>/shared -U user -c 'put <local file> <remote file>'

# Using mount
sudo mount -t cifs //<server IP address>/shared /mnt/shared -o username=user,password=yourpassword